Dogs Prefer Winners over Losers
A study was conducted to analyze canine spectators and their reaction to the winner and the loser of the competitive match. In the study a human and a dog playfully competed with each other while two other spectator dogs watched. The human acted like a dog and used playful non-threatening movements while engaging in games with the dog, such as tug-of-war. The human got down on all fours and imitated playful movements of the dog such as bows, playful, non-threatening lunges, and feet shuffling. At the end of the game the spectator dogs excitedly ran towards the victor, wanting to interact with him.
A second study was conducted where the spectators were not able to view the game, but were able to hear it. Even though the spectators could not see who won, they still rushed over to the winner after the game. The dogs were able to tell either by listening to the game, or by having other unknown cues that identified who the winner was.
A third study was conducted where the human and dog competed without playful movements. In this case the spectator dogs did not approach the winner of the match. The other dogs most likely felt threatened by the winner of a real competition.
By watching the animals compete, the dogs seem to gain information about the animal's social status. Nicole Rooney, a researcher at the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Bristol said, "I believe that within the context of a game dogs prefer winners because they are likely to be fun and effective partner with which to play." Dogs enjoy competitive play to test their competitive ability and learn from the other partner, which means that a dog will learn more from playing with a partner at either an equal or superior level than it would from playing with a partner of an inferior level. Dogs especially love to win the playful competitions. In related research it was found that winning improves dogs social skills and playing behavior.
Posted by ALT (4)